The Justice Project has just released two pol­i­cy reviews relat­ed to DNA test­ing and the crim­i­nal jus­tice sys­tem. The first, ​“Improving Access to Post-Conviction DNA Testing,” chron­i­cles the lessons to be learned from the case of Kirk Bloodsworth. Bloodsworth was sen­tenced to death in Maryland and spent almost nine years in prison for the rape and mur­der of nine-year-old Dawn Hamilton before DNA test­ing proved he did not com­mit the crime. The report con­tains the Justice Project’s rec­om­men­da­tions for avoid­ing such mis­takes in the future, includ­ing: preser­va­tion of bio­log­i­cal evi­dence, open­ness to legal claims based on DNA test­ing from pris­on­ers, avail­abil­i­ty of DNA test­ing and rep­re­sen­ta­tion to bring claims, and stan­dard­iza­tion of test­ing pro­ce­dures.

The sec­ond pol­i­cy review, enti­tled ​“Improving the Practice and Use of Forensic Science,” address­es the needs for reform in the han­dling and test­ing of foren­sic evi­dence. The report explores the erro­neous tes­ti­mo­ny of a foren­sic ana­lyst that helped con­vict Brandon Moon in Texas of a rape he did not com­mit. The faulty han­dling of post-con­vic­tion DNA test­ing kept Moon in prison for sev­en­teen years before he was exon­er­at­ed and freed. Both reports exam­ine prob­lems and solu­tions, the legal land­scape, pro­files of injus­tice, and mod­els of pol­i­cy relat­ed to DNA test­ing and foren­sic sci­ence.
Visit www​.theusti​ce​pro​ject​.org for copies of the stud­ies. See also Studies.

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